The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1887-03-10
VesuyiuS.

Known DIS t6SuNluo, ID oiVu"sSo -
Shenandoah Valley Railroad, on the dlyld-
ing line between Augusta and Rockorldge
counties. 1t is a narrow valley, hedged IN
on either side by towering hills and dotted
bv numerous dwellings, some neat and
imposing. and others primitive and unpre-
tentious At one time it was the seat OF
busy industries, giving employment 10
hundreds Of laborers, and djtfuslng
spirit Of enterprise and prosperity through
out all that section. Now it can boast OILY
of the Plow Factory of Messrs. H. f. Lyle
g Co., and the merchant mills Of Mr.. H.
T. Rawlins, a store and several mechanl-
cal shops. Fifty years ago, within "a ra-
digs of three miles, three iron furnaces
were successfully OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, Co
topaxi and Moore 's-the ruins of two OF
which still stand as decayed monuments
to the energy and business life of gener-
alton past. In the days when their fires
were aglow and the molten metal poured
from their mouths. railroads were unknown
in this part of the State. The great IN
GlSIIlQi UtSLlIGto VI L Obhi'J iseet4AS' 49, y
unknown, or il known, with but local
name. The product of these furnaces
was conveyed probably to Scottsyille, Or
some station on the canal, or the lower
James, forty or fifty miles from the
point of manufacture, and thence to Rich
mond. The mule and the road wagon were
the means of transportation, and every
thing connected with both the manufac-
ture and the market of the iron was Of
the most primitive character. Yet the
furnaces proved remarkably remuneratiye,
and Mathew Bryant, the pioneer in the
| iron business in this locality, lived in COM
fort and afluence, and dispensed his kind
nesses toa large constituency. But eastern
enterprise and push changed all this as
soon as rail facilities encouraged the de-
veopment and utilization Of the mineral
resources of Pennsylvania. The mule
and the wagon could not compete with the
iron horse. and by degrees the market was
taken from the Virginia Industries, and
controlled by the Pennsylvania manufac-
turer. In this way and from this cause
the iron industry Of Vesuvius Valley de-
clined and finally died out, and. to-day
there is nothing to remind the passerb OF
the once busy scenes Of enterprise which
stirred and moved the denizens Of that 10
cality bat the dismantled stacks from
which issued the smoke and blaze of the
furnace fires a half century ago. The ores
and limestone are there as plentiful as
when brawny arms tore them from their
mountain beds and fashioned them into
wealth and usefulness for the demands of
advancing civilization. But the abandoned
plants seem to inislead the observer, and
instead Of examining into the cause of the
ruins, and tracing them to their true
source, the conclusion is jumped at, that
the ores were exhausted, and hence the
deserted furnaces. 1t was the race between
the mule and the steam engine and the
mule got left That is the whole of the
story
We Go not think that we eNaggerate
when we assert that there's as much min
eral wealth and as great a variety Of it il
the region about Yesuvius as can be found
in any similar area of territory i'll che
United States. There are the brown he
Matte, spacular and magnetic ores. man
ganese, lead, tin and kaolin-all within {
radius of ten miles, where Nature ha'
been lavish in her gifts to encourage MANI
featuring enterprises, The Shenandoah
Valley Railroad passes right through th'
Valley, within stones throw Of the oil
furnace sites, as we'll as the mineral de-
posts. And yet there is no organized
movement to develop and utilize them
Here and there may be seen the groun
broken, as though prospecting for some
thing in a desultory and spasmodic way
but no systematic plan of development
and no capital with which to enter intel
lIgently upon that kind of work.
But there is q batter day in the near fu
ture for this rich mineral district. Ski
and capital will not much longer renal
ignorant of the splendid opportunitie
here offered for remuneratiye employ
ment. Industries will be again establishe
and the old time activity ard enterpris
will awake the sleeping resources of thi
t attractive section Of the State. If OH
! own people will not avail of the invitatio
t Northern capital and sagacity will, an
f reap the reward Of their venture. Th
: natural wealth is there, as tits allalong tn
: Blue Ridges base from Harper's Ferry o
f through the Valley, and all that is want
: ing is skill and capital to convert it int
active values and literally repay those VIII
e may engage in it.